A social enterprise and fashion blog facilitating independence through enterprise and promoting sustainable business. Nominated for Blog of the Year at Blackweblog Awards and BEFFTA Awards 2012 & 2013.

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Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Thanks to a competition by New African Woman Magazine, Eighteen Forever has been chosen to showcase at Africa Centre Summer Festival along with 7 other fashion brands in Covent Garden Piazza. This event is curated by Yinka Shonibare MBE. First of its kind for the centre which almost closed down few years ago. A great showcase of African/African inpsired brands and music. Headlined by Nigerian superstar Nneka, DJ Edu.Other Musical acts include The Venus Bushfires, Tunde Jegede, Celloman, Wale Ojo and the Kalakuta Express, Kasai Masai, Bumi Thomas and DRB Las Gidi, a fashion show and visual arts exhibitions by Safaa Erruas, Otobong Nkaga and Nathalie Mba Bikoro.

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Since the first pair of shoes created with the African Ankara fabric, CEO and founder, Sara Coulibaly
has magnified and brought to life through every pair and collection thereafter; the beauty of fusing
materials, the resourcefulness of craftsmanship and the eclectic contrasting of colours…

Founded 2 years ago as Carpe Diem, My Miry which literally translates as “my thoughts” in the
Malinké dialect of Ivory Coast has re-launched after a 6 months hiatus. The Parisian based
womenswear brand has transformed itself into an exclusive premium footwear and accessories brand
crafted from the drawing board of Sara’s imagination and inspiration to being brought alive in the
South of Spain at a studio that also enlists Carolina Herrera as clients.

The brand presents a 13 piece collection termed “Precious” each representing the name of a precious
stone; the first collection under My Miry where quality is assured – only premium leather is used on
the exterior, interior and the sole and only the best quality Ankara fabrics sourced from around Africa
are used. Comfort is assured – the pieces are refined and glamorous, modern and ethnic to accentuate
your feet. A great quality fit adapted to the life of the woman in motion.
“I wanted to create pieces that were literally as precious each in their own right so we employed different
fabric styles on each of the 13 pairs to ensure they were unique, elegant and classic” states Sara
Coulibaly.

The pieces will be available to buy from the website www.mymiry.fr (currently under revamping).

Friday, 19 July 2013

What happens when the weather decides to get unbearable? You change outfits as many times as possible.
This week, I am obsessed with pleats and ankle strap sandals. They are comfortable and stylish. Loving my Island Getaway pleats skirts from Boohoo. Island Getaway is a shade of green. Looks cool on the skin.

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

For those who say- "there's nothing going on in Liverpool". Well you are so wrong. There is a great deal going on in the city. I must admit, its not the same as London or Birmingham. However, you can create your own event. Contact other creatives and work together. There is never a success by one but by many.

Like many, Claire saw a gap in Liverpool for sociable events, specifically extravagant hair shows to showcase talent in the region. Claire decided to organise the first Urban Hair Show in Liverpool with the aim of raising funds for Liverpool One Charity. Liverpool Urban Hair Show took place on Thursday 4th July at Leo Casino.

Models hair were styled by Wirral Metropolitan College students' and, Eighteen Forever(EF) had the pleasure of styling 5 models with the brand clothing range. EF clothing is for social change. Wearing EF Clothing means you want to see positive change in the fashion industry and you help to create work for those in developing communities. T-Shit was also showcased at the show. A range of- what I describe as Urban, Cool, T-Shirt by Jasmin.

What would a show be without media people? Nothing. Special thanks to Photograph-E for the images.

She is super fierce. Winning the Best Look of the Night. So deserved it. Want the dress? Contact EF- eighteenf@gmail.com

Saturday, 13 July 2013

Since I started blogging, I have received more questions about "How to start a blog" than any other. Blogging is now the big "thing" to do. With so many blogs out there, it is really impossible to accurately determine the number of blogs in the UK or rest of the world. If this was possible, we would also need to look at how many blogs are active or dead and, how many have meaningful establishment. Not all blogs are good blogs and not all good blogs are reachable due to SEO functionality and many other computing jargon.

Starting your own blog is not an easy task because you have to keep update of it and make it interesting to keep your followers and attract new ones. There are five critical questions you MUST ask yourself before creating your blog. Rather than giving you some steps, I have questions for you. They are as follows:

1. Why do I want to create a blog?

Like I've mentioned before, creating a blog is not as easy as it seems. It requires a tremendous level of determination and persistence. Don't create a blog for the sake of it or because your friend has a blog. You should create a blog because you have an alluring content to share with many. This content could be anything, from fashion, music, poetry, design to literally anything at all. Once you've decide why you want to create a blog, this leads to the next question.

2. How do I create a blog?

You can create a blog using blogger. This is the same domain as this blog or you can use Wordpress. From experience, blogger is more easier to use and can take between 10-30minutes to create depending on your computing skills. Blogger is straightforward and with Google+, your content can reach more audience. Downside to creating using a public space is that you don't own the domain name, for example- my blog appear as eighteenf.blogspot.com. Blogspot.com is a public domain owned by blogger. If you wish to buy your domain you might lose your followers as your blog will not be visible to those using blogspot.com/co.uk. As always, we are concerned about the cost of blogging. So you ask....

3. How much will it cost to start a blog?

It is FREE to start a blog. Beware of so called "web designers" who ask for payments before creating a blog. The only cost you might incur is for creating your own domain. For example, if you do not wish to have www.myblog.blogspot.com instead www.myblog.co.uk

4. What is my blog name?

A very good question that you might struggle to answer. Give your blog a creative but memorable name. Don't use codes only understandable to you. Use names or words that people will remember. When promoting your blog, make sure you use this always (in your emails, messages and so on). To prevent copyright issues, check online to make sure no one is currently using the name. Avoid unnecessary stress and humiliation!

5. How do I promote my blog?

This is the most difficult part of owning a blog. Promoting and marketing your blog is the fundamental tool to keeping your blog alive, otherwise it will soon be a dead blog wasting space on www. You can promote your blog through social media sites. I will suggest you create a Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest page specifically for your blog (use blog name!). Keep personal information to a minimum and focus on your contents. Also, join communities of bloggers such as IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers). Once you join communities of bloggers, you can network and build on your niche. Your niche will determine your following. There is no such thing as "narrowing your content will reduce your following". Total rubbish! There is something for everyone. If you want to be a food blogger, you might want to consider what areas of food you want to blog about. For example, you might want to focus on pastries/baking rather than meals. Therefore, pastry will be your niche in your description as a food blogger.

Copyright: This article is owned by Eighteen Forever. Please ask for permission before using.

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

#BETAwards took place on Sunday 29th June in US but, for many of us, it was aired on Tuesday 2nd July. Judging by the performances, this was the best BET Awards ever! Lots of performances on the night, great host (Chris Tucker) and a very fashionable crowd too. What was interesting was the collaborations between different genres and artists. Erykah Badu and Kendrick Lamar were great and so was Chris Brown's opening performance. Despite the negative press that surrounds him, he is a great artist!

Was completely moved by Dwayne Wade's life story and how he has made a success of his life through hard-work and sheer determination. A young man from South Chicago faced with ruthless life experiences in his neighbourhood but chose a positive life for himself and of course, his family. He now gives back to his community who gave him nothing. A true hero! More people should pay attention to such individuals and make a better example in their communities.

You can't ignore how in-love they are. Gabrielle Union is a smart, classy young woman. Perfect match! Watch on next project- #BeingMaryJane on #BET

Another great moment was watching the legendary Charles Wilson rocking like he was 25 yrs old again. He was joined on stage by Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion and Pharrell Williams to perform some of his timeless hits. Missed it? Catch it on #BET

The queen of sliding, breaking, humping and everything "dance", yep you know it- Ciara. She dances like anybody's business and makes it look so damn easy. Always great watching her performances.